Suquamish business arm considers new entertainment venue in Kitsap

A lawn concert takes place at the Suquamish Clearwater Casino and Resort. Port Madison Enterprises, which runs the complex, is considering a new venue to expand its entertainment offerings.(Photo: Contributed photo / Port Madison Enterprises)

SUQUAMISH – Port Madison Enterprises, the economic development arm of the Suquamish Tribe, is dipping its toe into expanding its concert offerings with the long-term goal of building a permanent entertainment venue in Kitsap County.

PME is no stranger to hosting concerts and handling crowds at musical events. In the warmer months, music from the lawn concerts at its Suquamish Clearwater Casino and Resort regularly floats out over Port Madison. For popular shows, attendees pack in close to the stage and boats anchor out in the water, where other attendees listen in. Throughout the year, the site hosts other music and comedic acts inside the Clearwater.

Over the next few months, PME plans to host a pair of what it hopes will be larger concert events at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. On June 30, it’ll host Creedence Clearwater Revisited, and on Sept. 6, it’ll bring in Dwight Yoakam, both of which will play at the Kitsap Sun Pavilion. PME is also zeroing in on an outdoor, family-oriented show for the Thunderbird Stadium in July.

PME plans to host more of those concerts at the fairgrounds over the next few years, PME CEO Samuel Askew said, explaining that the data it draws from those events will help the agency as it plans some kind of an entertainment venue in Kitsap.

“All that data allows us to really sit down and make a better plan of what we need, when we need it,” he said. “We may find out that we do need an amphitheater that can hold a larger number of people, along with camping and so forth. We may find that we need an indoor venue that’s of the size of the pavilion here (at the Clearwater).”

PME is considering a variety of entertainment options, including a concert venue or an entertainment center with draws like eSports gaming or bowling alleys, similar to Ocean 5, the new family gaming complex in Gig Harbor, Askew said, noting that PME hasn’t settled on a target market yet.

The planning comes as the agency is looking to broaden the range of musical acts it brings in to draw in younger demographics, PME board president Greg George said. George pointed to the shift in Las Vegas from a focus on gaming to venues adding more entertainment and dining options as a move that PME wants to follow.

“I’d like to see us be the entertainment place for Kitsap County and Jefferson County,” he said. “We can make it an entertainment place not just for people who want to game, but who want to have dinner and see a country show or a pop show.”

While the agency has mulled purchasing sites from north of Kingston to Silverdale to Bremerton, Askew said, it already owns a prime location midway between Poulsbo and the Agate Pass Bridge. The large, undeveloped property, which sits just north of West Sound Academy, offers views of the water and would have plenty of room for a venue and space for parking and camping, Askew said.

A 2016 lawn concert takes place at the Suquamish Clearwater Casino and Resort. Port Madison Enterprises is going to expand its concert offerings this summer by holding shows at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds.(Photo: Contributed photo / Port Madison Enterprises)

In November 2017, the Suquamish Tribe purchased the former Northwest College of Art and Design campus south of that property, for $5.5 million, according to county property records. The college had left the North Kitsap site for a building in Tacoma. The tribe is currently reviewing proposals to remodel the site and relocate Chief Kitsap Academy there, tribe spokeswoman April Leigh said.

Over the years, PME has considered a wide variety of uses for the northern site, including “glamping,” canopy tours, big-box shopping, retail space, mixed-use development, housing, an apartment complex and a music amphitheater, Askew said.

“You name it, we’ve talked about it,” he said.

Planning is still in the early stages, but Askew said PME plans to build something within the next five years. The project would need feasibility, environmental and traffic studies, conversations with local stakeholders like the cities of Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island, as well as state officials, input from tribal members, and approval from the Suquamish Tribal Council, PME officials said.

“As we (plan), we have to be cognizant of the impact to our neighbors and the community overall and how we get people to and from (the site),” Askew said. “The blessing that we have here is that there are multiple options to get to and from that site should we do something of this nature.”